theeee we goo
Marie Rider
Hon. English 4/ Graduation Project
Mrs. Susan Hubbard
8 March 2007
Midterm Presentation: Preparation Outline
Introduction
Attention Grabber: Imagine a career where the work description includes murder, extortion and deceit. Where the daily risks include assassination, robbery and government bribery. The description of activities could fit into none other than The New York Mafia.
Need for listening:
A. Credibility Statement: I am an avid fan of the television show “The Sopranos”. I was once watching an episode where must to my amazement, I heard my grandfather’s last name. A pizza parlor owner in New York City, my grandfather has had connections to La Cosa Nostra, the Italian-American Mafia. Since I discovered this fact, I have been interested in finding out the interesting history of the Mafia.
B. Relate to Audience Statement: How many of you have traveled to New York City? Has any one eaten in a pizza parlor? Did you know that pizza parlors are one of the most common meeting places of Mafia captains and underlings?
Thesis: To fully understand the intricate workings of the New York Mafia, one must first be acquainted with the major families, illegal practices, and social examples of the crime underworld.
Preview of Main Points: I am going to educate you on the three largest, most influential families of New York, their illegal activities, and how true life social examples can be used to study the Mafia.
Transition: To understand how the Mafia truly works, we must be educated on the three largest New York Mafia families.
I. The three most influential families in the New York Mafia are the Gambino Family,
the Lucchese Family, and the Bonanno Family.
A. The Gambinos are the richest and most powerful family in the Mafia.
1. The flow of power
a. in the struggle for power, violence broke out rampantly (DiBernardo 2)
b. Gambino foiled the plots of Joe Bonanno to assassinate him and other
crime leaders and so to become the most powerful don in the United
States (Sifakis 132)
c. John Gotti had officially become the new boss of the richest and most
powerful crime family in America (Sifakis 133)
2. Business
a. its empire ranges from every borough of New York City to the green
felt of Atlantic City and Las Vegas (Sifakis 132)
b. heroin plants of Sicily and Asia (Sifakis 132)
c. Gotti’s money came mostly from merchandise like stolen Italian cars
and clothing (DiBernardo 1)
3. New Leadership
a. as Paul Castellano refused to expand the family’s activities in certain
areas, the Gambinos lost some influence (Sifakis 69)
b. Aniello Dellacroce spent decades in the Mafia and was a faithful
follower of Carlo Gambino (Sifakis 100)
c. John Gotti was in charge of the biggest Mafia family in the nation
(Sifakis 144)
A. As we enter a new age, it becomes clear that the Gambinos have the most
staying power in New York.
B. A second most important family in New York is the Lucchese Family.
1. Leaders
a. Thomas Lucchese is considered one of the “classiest” Mafiosi
(Sifakis 198)
b. Carmine Trumunti had an unspectacular but successful career in the
rackets of East Harlem (Sifakis 198)
c. Anthony “Tony Ducks” Corallo was boss of the Lucchese crime family
in the 1970s and 1980s (Sifakis 88)
2. Business
a. dominated the New York garment industry rackets (Sifakis 199)
b. ran smooth operations in gambling, loansharking, narcotics, and the
construction rackets (Sifakis 199)
c. controlled many Bronx rackets as well as the ice industry (Sifakis 198)
3. Friendships
a. Lucchese was a close friend to Armand Chankalian (Sifakis 199)
b. Through Chankalian, Lucchese met Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas
Murphy (Sifakis 199)
c. the Murphy-Lucchese friendship becomes well known (Sifakis 199)
B. Lucchese’s New York crime family was considered to be the fairest and most
peaceful.
C. The third family of importance is the Bonanno family.
1. Joe Bonanno
a. Joe Bonanno, the boss from 1931 until the mid 1960s, was an
innovative man (Sifakis 43)
b. Bonanno was into clothing factories, cheese farms, and even a funeral
parlor (Sifakis 43)
c. Bonanno planned the assassinations of Carlo Gambino and Thomas
Lucchese (Sifakis 43)
2. Revenue (Sifakis 41)
a. the Italian lottery
b. bookmaking and loansharking
c. narcotics
3. The Banana War
a. The war lasted from 1964 to about 1969 (Sifakis 24)
b. Joe Bonanno was kidnapped at gun-point (Sifakis 24)
c. The war ended when Bonanno was released from captivity (Sifakis 25)
C. Unrest in the Bonanno family led to its demise.
I. These three influential New York Mafia families are well-known and powerful.
II. The main purpose of organized crime is illegal activity. The mafia exercises its
power through murder, gambling and racketeering.
A. The most commonly committed illegal act is murder
1. Dishonor between families
a. Joe Bonanno’s plan (Sifakis 24)
b. Tony Blundetto of The Sopranos (Imperioli)
c. Tony Soprano’s decision in relation to Joe Bonanno (Imperioli)
2. Disobedience within families
a. John Gotti makes an example (Sifakis 144)
b. Carlo Gambino takes action (Sifakis 199)
c. Dispute between Castellano and Dellacroce (Sifakis 133)
3. Assassinations
a. Albert Anastasia is murdered by Carlo Gambino (Sifakis 133)
b. Castellano is gunned down by Gotti (Capeci)
c. John F. Kennedy’s murder conspiracy (Capeci)
A. Murder is considered the most socially unacceptable practice of the Mafia, but
unfortunately it is the most common.
B. Gambling is common in largely Mafia controlled areas
1. Casinos
a. The first casinos appeared in Las Vegas (Sifakis 182)
b. Both luxurious and illegal (Grabianowski)
c. since the 1970s, the government has been very strict about keeping the
mob out of Vegas casinos (Grabianowski)
2. Loansharking
a. lending money at extremely high interest rates
b. high stakes bets
c. captains in the Mafia are the loansharks
3. Bookmaking
a. Bookies take illegal bets
b. bets on everything and anything
c. bookies are financed through the Mafia
B. Illegal gambling is a large source of profit for the Mafia.
C. Racketeering in the Mafia is a large source of revenue (Wikipedia)
1. Protection Rackets
a. Extortion of small businesses
b. Businesses are forced to pay a “Protection fee”
c. Those who refuse to pay are targeted by criminals within the
organization
2. Numbers Racket (Wikipedia)
a. the Italian illegal lottery
b. Mafia bookies take bets
c. “Random” numbers are drawn
3. The RICO Act of 1970 (Wikipedia)
a. Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $25,000 and/or
sentenced to 20 years in prison.
b. Any act or threat involving gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson,
robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a
controlled substance or listed chemical.
c. There is also a provision for private parties to sue. A "person damaged
in his business or property" can sue one or more "racketeers."
C. To avoid awaiting a RICO trial, many Mafia members work through lower
associates so as to avoid detection.
II. Murder, gambling and racketeering are the Mafia’s main ways of corruption and
control.
III. The Mafia is a not-so-secret organization that prides its self on family ties. We can
see this firsthand through the social examples the entertainment industry produces.
A. Mafia movies are the most common source of Mafia insight.
1. The Godfather
a. “No Sicilian can refuse any request on his daughter's wedding day.”
(Coppola)
b. “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” (Coppola)
c. Connection to Sicily (Coppola)
2. Scarface
a. Immigration from Cuba (De Palma)
b. Cocaine Distribution in 1980s Miami (De Palma)
c. War between Tony Montana and Alejandro Sosa (De Palma)
3. The Departed
a. FBI infiltration/ Under-cover cops (Scorsese)
b. South Boston Setting (Scorsese)
c. Jack Nicholson’s Frank Costello (Scorsese)
A. Movies portray the vicious gangster in a concise 90 minute format.
B. One can also gain a deeper understanding from watching television shows.
1. The Sopranos
a. The DiMeo family (The Sopranos)
b. The Soprano family (The Sopranos)
c. Character development in Mafia characters (The Sopranos)
2. La Piovra
a. Italian police response to the Mafia (La Piovra)
b. The Mafia in Sicily (La Piovra)
c. The Police Commissioner character (La Piovra)
3. Comics and Anime (Wikipedia)
a. Batman
b. Gungrave
c. Noir
B. The ability to build on a character’s personality over the length of a season is
an advantage in studying mobsters in a television show.
C. Videogames (Wikipedia)
1. Scarface - The World is Yours
a. “What if?” - The next step
b. Restore your empire, play as Tony Montana
c. Play other characters
2. The Sopranos: Road to Respect (Wikipedia)
a. Character begins at the bottom, and works his way to the top
b. Only shows the Mafia aspect of The Sopranos
c. Fits into the show’s timeline correctly
3. The Godfather: The Game (Wikipedia)
a. A nameless mafia member rises in ranks
b. The character becomes Don Corleone’s underboss
c. The game follows the basic format of the movie
C. Being able to put yourself in the mobsters’ shoes proves to be entertaining as
well as informative.
III. Through entertainment, the general consumer can experience the inner workings of
most hated secret society: The Mafia.
Transition: “I’m gonna give him an offer he can’t refuse.” That one famous line from The Godfather sums up the entire Mafia concept. Fear breeds cooperation.
Conclusion:
I. Summary: Mafia members are portrayed as cruel heartless villains in movies, games, books, and television shows. History has shown these judgments to be based on fact.
II. Clincher:
YEAH?!
Hon. English 4/ Graduation Project
Mrs. Susan Hubbard
8 March 2007
Midterm Presentation: Preparation Outline
Introduction
Attention Grabber: Imagine a career where the work description includes murder, extortion and deceit. Where the daily risks include assassination, robbery and government bribery. The description of activities could fit into none other than The New York Mafia.
Need for listening:
A. Credibility Statement: I am an avid fan of the television show “The Sopranos”. I was once watching an episode where must to my amazement, I heard my grandfather’s last name. A pizza parlor owner in New York City, my grandfather has had connections to La Cosa Nostra, the Italian-American Mafia. Since I discovered this fact, I have been interested in finding out the interesting history of the Mafia.
B. Relate to Audience Statement: How many of you have traveled to New York City? Has any one eaten in a pizza parlor? Did you know that pizza parlors are one of the most common meeting places of Mafia captains and underlings?
Thesis: To fully understand the intricate workings of the New York Mafia, one must first be acquainted with the major families, illegal practices, and social examples of the crime underworld.
Preview of Main Points: I am going to educate you on the three largest, most influential families of New York, their illegal activities, and how true life social examples can be used to study the Mafia.
Transition: To understand how the Mafia truly works, we must be educated on the three largest New York Mafia families.
I. The three most influential families in the New York Mafia are the Gambino Family,
the Lucchese Family, and the Bonanno Family.
A. The Gambinos are the richest and most powerful family in the Mafia.
1. The flow of power
a. in the struggle for power, violence broke out rampantly (DiBernardo 2)
b. Gambino foiled the plots of Joe Bonanno to assassinate him and other
crime leaders and so to become the most powerful don in the United
States (Sifakis 132)
c. John Gotti had officially become the new boss of the richest and most
powerful crime family in America (Sifakis 133)
2. Business
a. its empire ranges from every borough of New York City to the green
felt of Atlantic City and Las Vegas (Sifakis 132)
b. heroin plants of Sicily and Asia (Sifakis 132)
c. Gotti’s money came mostly from merchandise like stolen Italian cars
and clothing (DiBernardo 1)
3. New Leadership
a. as Paul Castellano refused to expand the family’s activities in certain
areas, the Gambinos lost some influence (Sifakis 69)
b. Aniello Dellacroce spent decades in the Mafia and was a faithful
follower of Carlo Gambino (Sifakis 100)
c. John Gotti was in charge of the biggest Mafia family in the nation
(Sifakis 144)
A. As we enter a new age, it becomes clear that the Gambinos have the most
staying power in New York.
B. A second most important family in New York is the Lucchese Family.
1. Leaders
a. Thomas Lucchese is considered one of the “classiest” Mafiosi
(Sifakis 198)
b. Carmine Trumunti had an unspectacular but successful career in the
rackets of East Harlem (Sifakis 198)
c. Anthony “Tony Ducks” Corallo was boss of the Lucchese crime family
in the 1970s and 1980s (Sifakis 88)
2. Business
a. dominated the New York garment industry rackets (Sifakis 199)
b. ran smooth operations in gambling, loansharking, narcotics, and the
construction rackets (Sifakis 199)
c. controlled many Bronx rackets as well as the ice industry (Sifakis 198)
3. Friendships
a. Lucchese was a close friend to Armand Chankalian (Sifakis 199)
b. Through Chankalian, Lucchese met Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas
Murphy (Sifakis 199)
c. the Murphy-Lucchese friendship becomes well known (Sifakis 199)
B. Lucchese’s New York crime family was considered to be the fairest and most
peaceful.
C. The third family of importance is the Bonanno family.
1. Joe Bonanno
a. Joe Bonanno, the boss from 1931 until the mid 1960s, was an
innovative man (Sifakis 43)
b. Bonanno was into clothing factories, cheese farms, and even a funeral
parlor (Sifakis 43)
c. Bonanno planned the assassinations of Carlo Gambino and Thomas
Lucchese (Sifakis 43)
2. Revenue (Sifakis 41)
a. the Italian lottery
b. bookmaking and loansharking
c. narcotics
3. The Banana War
a. The war lasted from 1964 to about 1969 (Sifakis 24)
b. Joe Bonanno was kidnapped at gun-point (Sifakis 24)
c. The war ended when Bonanno was released from captivity (Sifakis 25)
C. Unrest in the Bonanno family led to its demise.
I. These three influential New York Mafia families are well-known and powerful.
II. The main purpose of organized crime is illegal activity. The mafia exercises its
power through murder, gambling and racketeering.
A. The most commonly committed illegal act is murder
1. Dishonor between families
a. Joe Bonanno’s plan (Sifakis 24)
b. Tony Blundetto of The Sopranos (Imperioli)
c. Tony Soprano’s decision in relation to Joe Bonanno (Imperioli)
2. Disobedience within families
a. John Gotti makes an example (Sifakis 144)
b. Carlo Gambino takes action (Sifakis 199)
c. Dispute between Castellano and Dellacroce (Sifakis 133)
3. Assassinations
a. Albert Anastasia is murdered by Carlo Gambino (Sifakis 133)
b. Castellano is gunned down by Gotti (Capeci)
c. John F. Kennedy’s murder conspiracy (Capeci)
A. Murder is considered the most socially unacceptable practice of the Mafia, but
unfortunately it is the most common.
B. Gambling is common in largely Mafia controlled areas
1. Casinos
a. The first casinos appeared in Las Vegas (Sifakis 182)
b. Both luxurious and illegal (Grabianowski)
c. since the 1970s, the government has been very strict about keeping the
mob out of Vegas casinos (Grabianowski)
2. Loansharking
a. lending money at extremely high interest rates
b. high stakes bets
c. captains in the Mafia are the loansharks
3. Bookmaking
a. Bookies take illegal bets
b. bets on everything and anything
c. bookies are financed through the Mafia
B. Illegal gambling is a large source of profit for the Mafia.
C. Racketeering in the Mafia is a large source of revenue (Wikipedia)
1. Protection Rackets
a. Extortion of small businesses
b. Businesses are forced to pay a “Protection fee”
c. Those who refuse to pay are targeted by criminals within the
organization
2. Numbers Racket (Wikipedia)
a. the Italian illegal lottery
b. Mafia bookies take bets
c. “Random” numbers are drawn
3. The RICO Act of 1970 (Wikipedia)
a. Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $25,000 and/or
sentenced to 20 years in prison.
b. Any act or threat involving gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson,
robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a
controlled substance or listed chemical.
c. There is also a provision for private parties to sue. A "person damaged
in his business or property" can sue one or more "racketeers."
C. To avoid awaiting a RICO trial, many Mafia members work through lower
associates so as to avoid detection.
II. Murder, gambling and racketeering are the Mafia’s main ways of corruption and
control.
III. The Mafia is a not-so-secret organization that prides its self on family ties. We can
see this firsthand through the social examples the entertainment industry produces.
A. Mafia movies are the most common source of Mafia insight.
1. The Godfather
a. “No Sicilian can refuse any request on his daughter's wedding day.”
(Coppola)
b. “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” (Coppola)
c. Connection to Sicily (Coppola)
2. Scarface
a. Immigration from Cuba (De Palma)
b. Cocaine Distribution in 1980s Miami (De Palma)
c. War between Tony Montana and Alejandro Sosa (De Palma)
3. The Departed
a. FBI infiltration/ Under-cover cops (Scorsese)
b. South Boston Setting (Scorsese)
c. Jack Nicholson’s Frank Costello (Scorsese)
A. Movies portray the vicious gangster in a concise 90 minute format.
B. One can also gain a deeper understanding from watching television shows.
1. The Sopranos
a. The DiMeo family (The Sopranos)
b. The Soprano family (The Sopranos)
c. Character development in Mafia characters (The Sopranos)
2. La Piovra
a. Italian police response to the Mafia (La Piovra)
b. The Mafia in Sicily (La Piovra)
c. The Police Commissioner character (La Piovra)
3. Comics and Anime (Wikipedia)
a. Batman
b. Gungrave
c. Noir
B. The ability to build on a character’s personality over the length of a season is
an advantage in studying mobsters in a television show.
C. Videogames (Wikipedia)
1. Scarface - The World is Yours
a. “What if?” - The next step
b. Restore your empire, play as Tony Montana
c. Play other characters
2. The Sopranos: Road to Respect (Wikipedia)
a. Character begins at the bottom, and works his way to the top
b. Only shows the Mafia aspect of The Sopranos
c. Fits into the show’s timeline correctly
3. The Godfather: The Game (Wikipedia)
a. A nameless mafia member rises in ranks
b. The character becomes Don Corleone’s underboss
c. The game follows the basic format of the movie
C. Being able to put yourself in the mobsters’ shoes proves to be entertaining as
well as informative.
III. Through entertainment, the general consumer can experience the inner workings of
most hated secret society: The Mafia.
Transition: “I’m gonna give him an offer he can’t refuse.” That one famous line from The Godfather sums up the entire Mafia concept. Fear breeds cooperation.
Conclusion:
I. Summary: Mafia members are portrayed as cruel heartless villains in movies, games, books, and television shows. History has shown these judgments to be based on fact.
II. Clincher:
YEAH?!